Bit 0: (Prolouge)
Falling...
'...Mew...'
Memories...
'...Articuno...Zapdos...Moltres...Lugia...'
Darkness...
'...The Unown...Entei...'
Wishes...
'...Celebi...'
Hopes...
'...Latias...Latios...'
Pain...
'...Jirachi...'
Friends...
'...Deoxys...Rayquaza...'
Dreams...
'...Manaphy...'
Fears...
'...Lucario...'
Worries...
'...Mew...two...'
Falling...
'...Pi...Pi...'
"Uuuuuhhhhnn..." A young black-haired boy slowly opened his eyes, feeling totally wiped. He saw he was on a bed in a shack somewhere. He heard the ocean nearby. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open and he sat up straight. "PIKACHU!" Ash Ketchum cried, and he threw off the covers. He was in nothing but his shirt and jeans, which were intact. He found his shoes, socks, gloves, vest, hat, and trusty backpack, then raced out the door. "PIKA-huh?" He stopped as he saw a beach. To his right was a green area with a pool of water. He blinked. "What...where...where am I?" he asked nobody confused.
"EEY! WATCH OUT!" cried out a sort of Jamaican-accented voice.
"Huh?" Ash turned to look, finally focusing on finer details, and found a ball come up and kiss his face. "YOW!" He fell back a little from the force and stumbled back to the wall of the shack, holding his face.
"Heheheh! I told ya to watch out!" said the voice again. Ash opened his eyes and looked down at the beach. A boy with hair that looked sort of like the tip of a soft serve, with the spiral lick, stood grinning at him. "Welcome to the Destiny Islands!" he greeted, holding his ball.
Ash blinked. "Wh...where?" he asked. "I was...I was just in a place called Nightsky City! And...and..." he trailed off, seeing the look of loss on the other boy's face.
The other boy sighed and shrugged. "Sorry," he said, "we just found you washed up on the beach last night. We dunno where you be from."
Ash gaped, then narrowed his eyes, shook his head and looked around. "Have you seen a Pikachu around here, by any chance?" he asked, putting his hands on the railing of the walkway surrounding the shack he stood on.
The other boy gave a quizzical look. "Bless you, or do you mean something else?"
"I mean a Pi-ka-chu," he said slowly, pronouncing each syllable so that it didn't sound like a sneeze.
The other boy's look got more quizzical. "Aaahhh...I've never heard of a Pikachu," he said, sounding like he wondered if he hit Ash too hard.
Ash blinked his eyes wide. "What?" He shook his head. "Are you kidding me?" He was about to say something else when he gasped and put his hand to his belt. His heart froze as he patted his belt all around. Suddenly, he raced inside the shack.
The orange-haired kid blinked in confusion. "Uuuuuuh...oooookaaaayyyy..." He turned and walked off, shrugging.
Ash, meanwhile, was tearing through the inside of the shack, which was actually pretty small. He quickly had looked everywhere. All he found was dust. A look of pure, horrorified shock spread on his face as he fell to his knees. "My...My pokémon..." he whispered. "They're gone...Pikachu, too...And I don't know where I am...where my friends are...or what the heck happened last night...or whenever that happened..." He was staring at the woodwork in the floor as he realized that he was alone in a strange place. Tears fell from his eyes and stained the wood. After a moment, he began to cry, banging his fist on the floor.
Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth - Chosen One
(or KH: PoT - Chosen One)
Bit 1: Destiny Islands
A while later, Ash stood up, bearing it. He looked around, then went out the door. The ocean scene met him once again. He swung himself down off the walkway onto the beach close below. After landing, he walked along the sand, looking around. "Destiny Islands," he muttered, then wondered if he'd picked up a map recently and opened his backpack. He gasped when he saw that he only had his sleeping bag and changes of underwear with him. Nothing else. He gaped, then sighed and put the pack back on and reached into his pocket to take out his badge case. With an immense sigh of releif, he found that his badges, at least, were safe and sound. "Well, every cloud has a silver lining," he muttered, putting it away. He then remembered his trusty pokédex and reached for it. He paled when he found he was without that, too. "Oh, great, all I have is my sleeping bag, some underwear, and my badges?" he complained, then sighed deeply and hung his arms low in defeat. "How can things get any worse...?" he asked.
His answer was a slam on the head, and he stumbled back a bit, then regained his balance. He anger-veined when he saw the blue ball again. "HEY! COWLIP KID!" he roared as the orange-haired boy came from behind a rock to retreive his ball. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMIN' THAT THING, ALREADY!"
The kid sweatdropped. "Hey, hey, it wasn't all my fault," he defended himself, holding up his hands. "It bounced. And my name's Wakka, not 'Cowlip Kid.'"
Ash sighed and picked up the ball. "Sorry, I'm in a bad mood," he told Wakka, walking the ball over to him. "I'm in a place I've never been before, I've got no idea where my friends are, and all I've got with me are my clothes, badges, backpack, sleeping bag, and spare underwear. You'd be in a bad mood, too."
Wakka smiled sympathetically. "You must have gotten into a real bad storm or something," he said, his ball being given back to him. "You must have been seperated from your friends and your stuff must have washed away."
Ash looked down, sad-faced. "I guess that's a good way of putting it," he mumbled, remembering the experience. He walked past Wakka. "I'm going to just look around this place for a bit," he said, and went off.
After turning around a cliff corner, he raised his eyebrows as he saw a little camp of sorts. There was a dock, a wall, a treehouse system, and a few other kids playing in the sand. "Wow, nice place," he commented to nobody.
"Yeah," Wakka agreed happily, walking up beside him. "It's our home away from home, and it's great!" He grinned and ran over to the other kids. "'Ey, guys! The kid who washed up yesterday's awake!" he called as he ran over.
Ash sweatdropped at this, then walked forwards and went over to the crowd. The other ones stopped playing and came over to investigate. A blonde-haired kid with a long, red stick came over, looking him over. "How're you feeling?" he asked him.
Ash made a small smile, his emotions not allowing him to do much else. "Fine," he half-lied.
A young, brown-haired girl with a jumprope came over and put her hands behind her back. "What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Ash Ketchum," he answered.
The girl grinned back. "That's a nice name!" she said. "I'm Selphie."
"I'm Tidus!" the stick-holding boy introduced.
Wakka laughed and held a hand up. "You already know who I am," he said.
Ash nodded. "Nice to meet you," he said.
"Where are you from?" asked another boy. Ash looked and saw a teenager wearing red shorts with chains, a white short-sleeve hoodie jacket, a pair of gloves, and a chain around his neck bearing a crown-like pendant. He had blue, alive eyes and spikey, brown hair. He also wore big, goofy-ish yellow shoes.
Ash answered, "Pallet Town," and wasn't all that surprised when a look of confusion registered on every face around him. "In the Kanto region?" he tried to help. Nothing. He blinked. "Sheesh, is this even Japan anymore?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Well, yeah," answered another boy. He had on sorta pantaloon-ish blue and black pants, a skintight yellow tank shirt with an "X" of black straps, gloves, and shoes smaller than his friend's. His hair was white, short, and down in thin spikes. His eyes were blue, as well. He had a 'badass' vibe to him. He crossed his arms. "Never heard of Kanto being called a region, though."
Ash looked confused. "Uhm...What region am I in, then?" he asked.
The other girl there giggled and came over. She had a white tanktop, bracelets, a purple miniskirt, white shoes(normal-looking), and brown, short hair. She had cute blue eyes. "Just plain ol' Destiny Islands," she answered.
Ash gaped. "Then..." He suddenly tried something, clenching his fists. "You guys've heard of pokémon, right?" he asked, a little scared.
When everyone gave him looks of confusion, he knew right away that he wasn't in Sinnoh anymore, or even the country he was born, despite the fact this was Japan. He gawked in shock. "No...No way..." He looked down at the sand. "This...I...But...How..."
"Ash?" The trainer looked up and saw the brown-haired boy come over, a dutiful expression on his face. "I think we can explain." He looked to Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. "You guys hang out on your own," he told them. "We want to talk to Ash alone."
The three made sounds of agreement, then went back to playing. Ash noticed that by "playing," I mean "fighting." Selphie was using her jumprope like a whip, Tidus used his stick like a sword, and Wakka used his ball by throwing it at them. Ash was tugged by the arm, and he turned to see the brown-haired kid motioning to go. He walked off with them.
They went to a little island with a big tree on it, connected by a wooden bridge. It was a beautiful view of the ocean. Above, in the branches of the tree whose shade he now stood in, Ash noticed star-shaped fruits.
"Ash." He turned to face the three.
"What?" he asked. "What do you guys want?" He felt a little on edge, and clenched his fists.
The brown-haired boy came forward. "First off, let's get our names out," he said. He put a hand to his chest. "I'm Sora."
"Riku," said the white-haired boy.
The girl nodded. "My name's Kairi."
Ash nodded. "Nice to meet you," he returned. He looked at Sora. "What is it?"
Sora sighed and looked at him. "You've probably noticed that we look a little different from you," he said. Ash started a little. Sora smiled sympathetically. "And I bet you've realized that this isn't the place you remember, in any way at all, too."
Ash nodded slowly. "Where the heck am I, then?" he demanded, narrowing his eyebrows a little.
"In a different world." Riku stepped forward. "You're inside a completely different world, a whole other reality," he explained. "There's no such thing as 'pokémon' here."
Ash gaped at him. "No...No pokémon?" he repeated breathlessly, shock filling him. "Pikachu...no..." He looked down slowly, realizing what horrible things this new world might have in store for him and, wherever they were, his pokémon and friends.
"I'm sorry, Ash," Kairi said, and he looked up at her. She had a truly sympathetic face on her. "We all are. And we all understand all too well the feeling of suddenly being in another world, not a friend in sight, no familiar things at all around." She looked down a little as she remembered her own experiences.
Sora asked, "Ash, what happened last? Do you remember?"
Ash looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, all too well," he replied. He closed his eyes as the images flashed by his memory. "First, I was in a place called Nightsky City, during this huge, all-city party that was so thick, we couldn't get out. Me and my friends Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu were with this one guy who I have a feeling wasn't who he appeared to be, named Maru. We had just gotten out of the center when he and Pikachu looked up, really tense." He clenched his fists tight as he remembered. "Soon, these weird black things started appearing after the lights all went out. Pikachu could use his Electric attacks and fend them off, but Maru, using this old wooden cane, couldn't. Not until he began kicking them, at least. A few of the people in the crowd, which was getting smaller because those black things were making people vanish, were somehow able to whack them away, too. I think they were from this one little fighting tournament they had that Maru won," he remembered, tilting his head a bit.
"Then, I got my other pokémon out and told them to use their attacks to destroy any of the black things that tried to fight us. Dawn and Brock did the same. We kept running, trying to find a way out, but we ended up on this stage they had there. By then, we had to recall our pokémon because they were getting tired, and Maru and Pikachu looked tired, too. I think during this, Maru said that the black things were stealing peoples' hearts." In front of him, Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at each other and nodded, though Ash didn't see since he still had his eyes shut. He clenched them tighter. "Then this black goo, like quicksand or something, sucked me, Dawn, and Brock up. The last thing I remember seeing was Pikachu and Maru looking at me in horror, and my hand reaching for them. Then it was all black...Wait!" He whipped his head up, eyes flying open and spraying a few tears. "I remember, I had this weird nightare that I was falling down, and I remember all the special pokémon I've met!" He shook his head and looked down. "But then I woke up, and was in that shack I guess you guys put me in. That's all I remember." He looked up and at Sora. "What the heck were those things that separated me from Pikachu and my friends?" he demanded to know.
Sora nodded, crossing his arms. "Those things are called Heartless," he explained. "What probably happened afterwards is Maru and Pikachu got sucked up, too, either by that goo you were talking about-that I've never heard of or experienced-or by a big, black ball in the sky that probably appeared a while later." He looked serious until now, but he softened his face. "Don't worry, if they can defend themselves until the ball sucks them up, they'll be fine," he assured Ash. "That's what happened to me."
Ash gasped. "What?" he shouted. "But...isn't this your home?" he asked, arms out to indicate his surroundings.
Sora nodded. "Yeah, it is," he confirmed, then chuckled. "It's a very long story."
"But now," Riku continued, "you're alone, without your friends. They might even be in a different world entirely. Where, though, I don't know." He shook his head, looking away. "They might have been taken by the Heartless, or they're being held somewhere, or they're safe and sound someplace. Just hope it isn't the first thing."
Ash looked horrified. "What do the Heartless do?" he asked. "Do they really steal peoples' hearts?"
Sora nodded. "Yeah," he answered, "and when that happens, the person who lost their heart becomes a Heartless, too. If their heart was strong when they lost it, their bodies are left behind as empty shells, called Nobodies. They're between the light and the dark, in the twilight, and hated by those from both sides, I think." He shrugged. "I forgot the fine details on those guys for now, sorry."
Kairi piped up, "But not all Nobodies are bad." Ash turned to her. "Some actually turn out to be nice. For instance, both me and Sora lost our hearts once." Ash gawked, and Kairi laughed a little. "Don't worry, we're not Heartless," she assured him, "although there can be human-like Heartless, just like there can be human-like Nobodies. But when both me and Sora lost our hearts, we generated Nobodies, who both ended up being good."
Ash nodded, then crossed his arms and dropped his head as he thought. "So...the Heartless steal peoples' hearts, which makes them become Heartless, and sometimes they make Nobodies," he reviewed. He looked up. "Is that it?" he asked.
The three shook their heads. "Oh, no," Sora replied, laughing mirthlessly. "Turns out that worlds themselves have hearts, too," he said. He smiled sympathetically at Ash's surprised face. "Yeah, surprised me, too, when I found out," he said. "How can the place you live have its own heart? Well, it does, and they're pretty big. The Heartless are attracted to big hearts, and the bigger, the better. They probably went to your world for its heart. Though..." He crossed his arms and bowed his own head, thinking. "That sounded pretty catastrophic, there, and Heartless generally don't take a world as soon as they find it. It usually takes some time before things get bad. They must have found the heart of your world really fast..."
Ash frowned. "What happens when the heart of a world is taken?" he asked. "What if there are still people on there?"
"They get taken away," Riku answered. "Not nessisarilly their hearts, but themselves. There's a place known as Traverse Town that people who've lost their worlds live. Although, last we checked, another place known as Radient Garden is becoming a place where people end up." He smiled. "If your friends are there, they're safe, don't worry."
Ash gulped. "I hope so," he mumbled. He sighed. "So my world's probably gone, now, huh?" he asked. He got three solemn nods in answer. He whimpered. "Great, now I don't even have a home to find!" he griped, and slammed his fist on the tree behind him.
Kairi smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, someone might be able to restore it," she told him. "Sora restored our world."
Ash opened his eyes and looked at Sora. "HOW?" he demanded. He clenched his fists and brought them up a little. "Maybe I can do the same thing and bring back my world! Would that bring back the people who were lost?" he asked.
Sora blinked, then laughed. "Wo-h-how, man, that's just kinda funny! That is, unless you're very special," he said, tilting his head a bit. "But saving your world would bring back anyone lost, I think. And sorry that I laughed at you," he added, looking sheepish, glancing at Kairi, who gave him a disapproving pout. "It's just that there aren't many people who can use the weapon that's needed to save worlds."
"Weapon?" Ash repeated, looking up in interest a little.
Sora smiled, nodded to his friends, and in unison, all three whipped their hands out. In flashes of light, three keys appeared in them. Kairi's was flower-themed, Riku's was sort of like a bat's wing and really darkness-themed, and Sora's was extraordinarilly plain, being silver, yellow handguarded, and bearing a blue band near the hilt. Ash had sheilded his face from the glare, but when he broght his arm down, he gasped in amazement and surprise.
"WWOOOOOAAAAHHH!" he cried. "What the-?"
Sora grinned and spun his around, then put it on his shoulder. "THESE are the kind of weapon I'm talking about," he said. "They're called Keyblades, for pretty obvious reasons." He held his out so Ash could see better. The wannabe-pokémon master looked in awe at it. "They're given only to special people, who are in fact chosen by the weapons," Sora explained. He smiled. "When my world was being attacked, I got mine. I dunno how Riku got his, although I do know that he was the one who was supposed to get the Keyblade." He sniggered. "Too bad he let himself get lured in by the darkness," he commented, giving a sideways glance to his friend.
Riku chuckled. "Yeah, well, I was just being a big, fat fool then," he dismissed without sounding mad at all. "I got this Keyblade on my own journey after Sora saved our world. And I gave Kairi hers."
Kairi grinned sheepishly. "Truth be told, I don't know much about swordfighting," she confessed. "I just got this because I wanted to help out as much as I could."
Ash smiled. "It's always good to want to help people out, even if you know you wouldn't be that much of a help," he said, making his signiture determined face as he held up his fist. "At least you were able to help, so be proud of that."
Kairi grinned. "I am!" she said.
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Ash? I thought you were all down and stuff a second ago, and now you're giving advice like you were happy again."
Ash sighed, his smile fading, and dropped his fist a little. "Well, I miss my friends a lot," he said, and paused. He then lifted his head and fist again, though, his face back on. "But, as much as I want to, I can't do anything if I just stand here and cry. The best thing I can do now is to keep my chin up and never quit!" He nodded at his words. "I've learned that through my journey: No matter what happens, never stop trying. Even if you know you're going to lose, it's better to give it your all than to let yourself lose. Because, well, you never know..." He chuckled and thumbed his nose. "You just might win!"
Sora grinned and nodded. "You're right, Ash," he agreed. "And I hope that you can keep going with that spirit, because it's no good if you give in to hopelessness. Just keep goin'." He smiled and looked at the waves for a second. "Anyway, Ash," he continued, getting back on topic, "these Keyblades are able to do many things, and basically end up giving you a chance to save your world. It's just that, well, only certain people can get one, and only one special one that they can get. Even if you were able to hold one, I couldn't just give you mine, for instance," he said, and held his Keyblade out. "Take it and watch what happens."
Ash came over and, a look of interest on his face, did as he was told. He held it up and looked at it for a second, until the weapon disappeared in a flash of light. "What?" he gasped.
The Keyblade reappeared in Sora's hand, and he laughed. "See? Two people have already tried to take it from me," he said, "and both times, it came back to me. Only once, when Riku took it, did it go away for good, and I was left with a toy sword." He dismissed his familiar weapon, the other two taking cue and copying him. "And by the way, the Heartless are immune to both toy weapons and normal fighting, with your hands and feet, unless the person knows what they're doing," he added. "That's probably why Maru, holding that cane, didn't do anything. He wasn't holding a real weapon. If he even held a knife, it would've worked. I mean, like, a pocketknife or something, not an eating knife!" he laughed. "Oh, wow, that's a funny thought-using utensils as weapons! I can see it now, waves of Heartless getting beaten by a guy weilding an enormous spoon or something!"
Ash blinked, then got the image and laughed, too. "THAT would be funny!"
Riku just shook his head into his hand, a smile on his face, and Kairi laughed along with. He sighed as the laughter faded. "Look, let's get to the point," he said, and put a hand to his hip. "Ash, you're in a different world, with no friends in sight or way to get back. Unless we can get a Gummi ship here or something, chances are you're stuck here. So, sorry, but you're going to have to cope for a while. That alright?"
Ash looked up at Riku, frowned a little at the reminder that he was alone, then nodded. "Yeah, I will," he replied. "I hope. I'm just so worried about my friends..." He sighed. "But I'll just have to keep holding on to the thought that they may be okay." He smiled again. "Am I going to stay here on the islands, or is there another place you want me to stay?" he asked, tilting his head. "I mean, I HAVE a sleeping bag, and there's a bed in that shack." His stomach gurgled just then, and he sweatdropped and smiled sheepishly. "I didn't see any food in there, though," he confessed.
Sora and co. looked at each other, smiling, then at Ash again. "Well, don't worry, we've got food here," said the brown-haired Keyblader. "And we'll work out where you'll be staying for the night later. For now, you can go to the shack and hang out."
Ash nodded and smiled. "Alright," he said. "Now, ah..." He blushed a little. "Can I have some of that food?"
Sora and the others laughed.
-'-,-'-
After having some lunch, Ash wandered around, exploring the island. He soon circumnavigated it, and found himself back at the beach that the others 'played' at. He found Sora and Riku there, fighting with wooden swords. Kairi sat on the wall and watched. Ash joined her. "Hey," he said.
"Hey," she greeted back. She turned to the fight again. "Those two sure keep their skills sharp," she commented.
Ash watched, raising an eyebrow at the swordfighting. "Wow, they're good," he said.
Kairi smirked. "Well, they ARE both chosen by the Keyblade," she reminded him. "I'm just able to use it, but they're able to use it WELL." She looked back at them. "It's been a couple months since we got back from our big adventure, but they're still swinging swords around, despite having spent what must have felt like a lifetime fighting off Heartless and Nobodies. Mostly Heartless." She sighed and leaned back a little, looking at the sky. "You know," she said, "if I wasn't the damsal in distress both times through, I bet I'd've had a bunch of fun on that adventure. You really don't know how exciting it is to visit other worlds..." She leaned forwards again. "But those two do, especially Sora. He got to meet lots of new friends, do lots of cool things, and even got to fly a spaceship!"
"A spaceship?" Ash repeated. His eyebrows shot up.
Kairi nodded, smiling and looking at Ash. "Yeah, it's called the Gummi ship," she said, "and it's able to go between worlds. It's better than the way the Heartless go. They're supposed to use these weird tunnels of darkness that connect each world together. They're said to be very dangerous, but the Heartless can go through like it's nothing." She sighed and shook her head. "But, hey, that's them. Sora got to go through using an awesome spaceship, his two partners that he picked up on his journey helping out. It sounds so exciting...!" She laughed. "But then, well, I should be careful what I wish for, since I may just end up getting captured again if I wish to go on my own journey."
Ash smiled. "I'm already on my own journey," he said. "It's a journey to become a pokémon master, the greatest trainer ever!" He gave his determined expression again. "In my world, there are creatures known as Pokémon, which are basically animals that are able to do cool stuff, like my best friend, Pikachu. It can squeeze his cheeks, which have special pouches in them, and send out bolts of electricity!" He smiled proudly. "It and I have been through thick and thin together. At first, it didn't really like me, but after I defended it from a bunch of spearow, well, we've been buddies ever since!" He grinned and reflexitively looked to his side-and saw nothing. His smile fell, and he sighed. "I really miss it..."
Kairi put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her smile. "Don't worry," she said. "I promise, you'll see Pikachu again. It's bound to happen."
Ash smiled and nodded. "You're right," he said. He sighed and looked back at Sora and Riku fighting. They watched for a while, then Ash began to feel interested. He looked at them, brain working. "You know," he said, "trainers are people who capture and train wild pokémon to fight other trainers' pokémon. It's pretty hard, but fun, too. I like it. For me, the key is finding the true strength within each pokémon and commanding them in battle in a way that best suits them. For instance, I used Pikachu a lot for its speed." He pointed to the friends/rivals below. "But something like swordfighting...That's different. You have to know how to basically command yourself, and you know that you're going to get hurt. I always try to keep my pokémon from getting hurt, of course, but it's still not quite the same as myself getting hurt." He put his hand back and propped his chin up as he watched. "But still, after watching Maru fight in that tournament with all the other different fighters, and watching these two, I've begun to think that this actually looks kinda fun. I've done all sorts of things, but always with my pokémon. Alone, though..."
Kairi smirked thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. "I swear, this island makes boys just wanna beat each other up," she joked. "Go ahead and give it a shot. We just do it for fun, here-well, they do. I prefer to sit back and watch. But if you want to try your hand at it, don't be scared!" She chuckled and smiled fully. "Those guys would be glad to have someone else to fight if you've got a knack for it enough!"
Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah, besides, I enjoy doing new things!" he said. He hopped down, still wearing his backpack.
Kairi noticed this. "Uh, Ash? Don't you want to go without your backpack? It could get in the way..." She raised an eyebrow as he just ran to the two boys.
Ash turned. "It's barely got anything in it, I'll be alright!" he assured her, then turned back. Sora and Riku, noticing him going towards them, stopped fighting. "Hey, guys!" Ash called, waving a hand. "Could I try?" he asked.
Sora and Riku raised their eyebrows, then smirked a little cockilly. "You sure?" Riku asked.
"We do things a little rough," Sora warned the trainer.
Ash stopped, getting to them. "Yeah, but I like a challange," he argued, smiling. "Just give me a wooden sword and I'll see how I do!"
Sora and Riku looked at each other, raising an eyebrow at each other, then shrugged. "Alright," Sora said, "you asked for it." He looked at Riku again. "You or me?"
Riku tossed his sword to Ash, who fumbled and didn't quite catch it. He rolled his eyes. "You," he replied. He went to stand at the wall.
Ash picked up the weapon and held it, looking at Sora. "Just you and me, huh?" he asked.
Sora grinned. "Looks like," he replied. He got into position. "Get ready!"
Ash nodded and held his sword ready, in both hands, and up, sort of like a baseball bat. "Ready!" he said.
"Then let's GO!" Sora cried, and ran forward, sword pointing at Ash.
Ash gulped and swung as Sora got nearer. He missed, and then was brutally comboed by the Keyblader. He blinked a second later, seeing blue sky. "Ow," he said, sounding surprised. "Okay, that wasn't unexpected, but still..." He got up and back into pose. Sora kindly waited for him to get ready, and even stood still while Ash charged and swung again.
Sora nimbly dodged it and whacked him from behind. Ash fell face-first into the sand, then got up again and charged again. "Remember to keep your legs bent a bit," Sora told him. "And look where you're going to swing!"
Ash growled, "I know!" as he missed again, and this time, he turned to face Sora before he got hit. He tried raising his sword up to block, but was too slow. "Ow! That actually hurts for a toy," he muttered.
Riku scoffed. "If you think this hurts, then you're not meant for real fighting," he called over to the trainer. "Be a man and bear it!"
Ash growled at him, but got hit during his distraction. "Hey! I wasn't looking!" he protested.
Sora looked at him with a serious-but still well-meant-look. "Never let yourself get distracted," he warned him, "because in a fight, your opponent will use every opportunity to defeat you."
Ash gritted his teeth and was able to block a hit. "I've just gotta get focused," he muttered. "Just gotta imagine that I'm in place of one of my pokémon in a battle, but with swords..." He was struck down again, but he paused before getting up. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and set his mind to being focused. Ready, Ash turned and faced Sora. He had stopped holding his sword like a baseball bat, since he didn't want to waste the prewind if he had to block. Instead, he held it with both hands, to his front, point forward. He placed his legs a bit apart and crouched a little. After a moment, he charged forward.
Sora grinned and went forward, too. The two met in a clash. He took his sword away quickly and tried another strike. Ash barely blocked in time. He struck again, and was also blocked. Then, he tried a stab. Ash was a little slow, and got hit. "OOF!" he went, holding his stomach, then growled and tried attacking again. The pain caused him to become reckless again, as well as slower from its effect.
After a few more minutes of getting beat up, Ash said to stop, panting and feeling sore all over. "Okay, I give up," he breathed, leaning on his sword a little. "Uncle...Owch..."
Sora sighed and walked over. "Well, sorry, Ash, but you asked for it," he told him. "Maybe swordfighting just isn't your thing."
Ash gave a weak grin up at him. "I just haven't gotten in as much practice as you have, that's all," he told him. "I'm used to being able to see what my opponent is doing entirely, not just so close up." He gave his sword to him and stood up. "I guess I'm going to have to learn how to analyze a situation when it's ME on the field and not the trainer's box." He smiled and went to sit by Kairi again.
Kairi looked him up and down, concerned. "Wow, I didn't think Sora would do that to you," she said, a little shocked. "I thought he'd be nice enough to teach you. Maybe he's just in one of those moods..."
Ash, bruised and beaten all over, just gave a little smile. "That's alright," he said. "I'm fine. At least he didn't try any really dirty tricks."
"Ash!"
Ash looked down and saw Sora smiling at him. "What?"
Sora grinned. "If you want, I can go easy on you tomorrow so that you get used to swordfighting," he offered.
Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked.
Sora smiled and nodded. "Yeah, if you really want to," he said. "I'm sorry I went so rough, but I had a feeling that you wanted to know how to swordfight because you wanted a Keyblade."
Ash sweatdropped, making the "uh-oh" face, then sighed in defeat. He smiled and lifted his hands. "You got me. True, I did want to do this because it looked fun, but I also really wanted to get a Keyblade," he confessed. He looked a little sad as he said, "I still want to find my friends, and you said that Keyblades guide you to adventures. I just thought maybe I'd be able to go on one, too, and find my friends."
Sora sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "Even if you could use a Keyblade, and knew how to fight, it's not that easy," he said. "I had to fight hoards of Heartless and seal worlds up before their hearts were stolen." He smiled. "But if you really want to learn swordfighting..."
Ash nodded. "Yeah! I want to get better!" he said.
Sora nodded, smiling. "Then you can start training tomorrow, or whenever you feel up to it," he said. "I say tomorrow since, well..." He sweatdropped and grinned sheepishly. "I really did a number on you!" He laughed.
Ash couldn't help but start to laugh, too. "Yeah, I feel like one big bruise!" he agreed. "But I'll be better tomorrow, I swear."
Sora nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds good. Besides, it's actually going to be sunset soon, so that means it's almost time for us to go."
Ash looked up and saw the sun starting to sink low on the horizon. "Yeah, I guess so," he said. Then he looked confused and asked, "Wait, you guys live away from here?"
Kairi nodded. "Yeah, of course," she said. "We go to school and everything, on the mainland."
"Except now, it's summer, so we hang out here," Riku said. "It's pretty fun."
Ash smiled and looked around. "I'm used to lots of forest," he said, "though I've been on my own adventure in the tropics." He then remembered something and gasped. "Hey, you know what?" he asked. "I actually had this one really huge one when I was there. In fact, not to brag or anything, but..." He shrugged and blushed. "I...kinda saved the world."
Riku, Sora, and Kairi gave him skeptical looks. "Oh, really?" asked Riku. "How? What was happening?"
Ash recounted his story about when he was on Shamuti Island and met Lugia. "...And do you know why I went through all that trouble?" he asked.
"Through the good of your heart?" Kairi guessed.
Ash shook his head. "Well, wait, that too," he gave, putting a finger up. "But the reason I did all that was because, on this one ancient pedestal, it said that 'the world would turn to Ash.'" He gave a little laugh. "Turns out I was destined to save the world! Funny, huh?" He didn't sound at all cocky that he did save the world. He was, thankfully, humble about the whole thing.
Sora raised his eyebrows. "Really..." He shrugged. "Well, that's a nice story, but unless you ARE bragging, why bring it up?"
Ash motioned to the three around. "You guys hold Keyblades, and you said that only certain people can hold them," he reviewed. He smiled and put his hand to his chest. "Maybe, because I'm supposed to be some 'chosen one,' I'm able to use a Keyblade, too!" he suggested, sounding a bit hopeful.
Riku shrugged. "It all matters on what's your heart like," he said. "Not if you're destined to save the world. And besides, if it IS destiny, then it's a completely different one. And in my opinion, if you've already got one destiny, that's pretty much it. There's tons more heroic things that people can do, and they should be given a chance." He looked at Sora, then crossed his arms and added, "Well, okay, Sora's saved lots of worlds from the Heartless, but he's a Keyblader. He's supposed to do that. That's an exception, then."
Ash smirked. "Then that would mean that I'm still up for it," he said. "Because if I get a Keyblade, which lets people do more than one big thing, that would include me saving my world from destruction."
Riku raised his eyebrows, then grumbled, "Oh, nevermind!" while the other three laughed.
"But really, Ash," Sora said, "I dunno if that counts towards getting a Keyblade. I mean, I've met someone who's related to gods in his world, and he didn't get a Keyblade." He shrugged. "It's really luck, I guess. And if you're a good person inside."
Ash smiled. "I try to be nice," he said. "I'm not completely worried about that part." He shrugged, though. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."
The others nodded, and they all decided to do their own things while the sun was still in the sky. Eventually, though, sunset came, and Ash said goodbye to everyone else. He then went to where he was shown the food was and got something to eat for dinner. Sure, it was just a couple sandwiches, but it was something. He then went and turned in for the night. All through that day, although he did his best to not think about it too much, he felt sadness gnawing at his insides, along with worry. Lonliness, however, was soon fading.
Thank you for patiently waiting for new chapters in my normal Puzzle of Truth fanfic, and for withstanding the fact that I've got Ash, of all people, as a main character if you've read this chapter all the way down here. I can't believe it, myself, but for some reason, especially after watching the Lucario movie, I suddenly gained a respect for everyone's least favorite main character in a long-running series. And I thought, "Hey, he might be up for this kinda thing; he's never afraid to try new things." Besides, sometimes, you just wanna read about a nice guy hero, and I'm always perpetually worried I'm deviating too far from Mewtwo's personality in his fiction. But with Ash, I've known his character so long, it's gonna be a lot easier. Not only that, I realized that it's gonna be hell to try and sic every single member of the bad guys onto Maru, what with how far I am already in his story-he should've fought one already, and you know that. However, there are some plot things I want Ash to do that Maru wouldn't fit in doing quite as well. But anyway, I've got a complete whimp as a character, so deal with it. Don't worry, I'm going to try and make Ash at least a LITTLE cooler. Losing your world is a pretty dark experience, so it's understandable that even the lightest of us would darken a bit after that.
Finally, to end this subnote, I've just got to say: I have written this BEFORE I've completely seen the ending of KHII. Laura and I, as of writing this, are still working on clearing Jiminy's fargin' journal. We've got a bit to go, but last thing we did together was nab Ultima Weapon, so Sephy, when we get to him, shouldn't be that hard. (It's the cups I'm worried about-my bro Kalas said he couldn't beat it last I asked, which was, I admit, a year or so ago, and he was doing it on Proud-we're on Normal and we don't want to start all the way back at the beginning just to get the final ending. All in all, working to get the ending at this point would be easier in Normal than by restarting in Proud.) So, I deeply appologize if I have any major plot discordancies-especially since I try writing fics as if they might-MIGHT-be in actual games.
Anyway, that's all from me! Please enjoy my other chapters!
-FerreTrip